By David Johnston, Transport Engineer
Over the past couple of decades, transport planning has undergone a fundamental shift. There has been a transition from the traditional “predict and provide” model towards a “vision-led” approach. Simply put, this marks a move away from an engineering-led response focused on accommodating forecast traffic growth through measures such as road widening and increased car parking provision. Instead, it reflects a more strategic approach that sets a clear vision for how places should function and how people should travel within them. What does this mean? Well, central to this vision-led approach is the aim of reshaping travel behaviours by increasing the uptake of sustainable modes, including walking, cycling, and public transport.
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Recent policy has accelerated this shift. The National Planning Policy Framework places this approach at the heart of decision-making, promoting sustainable transport by requiring developments to prioritise active modes of transport that are beneficial both for the environment and people’s health and wellbeing, and reducing reliance on private car use. Emerging tools such as the Department for Transport Connectivity Tool Lite highlight this shift by focusing on accessibility to key services via sustainable modes, moving away from traditional highway capacity metrics. Whilst currently in beta and by no means a substitute for detailed assessment, it signals a broader move towards embedding genuine accessibility-based thinking within transport planning. At a more local level, the London Plan goes further by explicitly supporting this approach through policies that promote modal shift away from private car use, measures to restrict car parking provision, and promoting the principles of Healthy Streets. This framework prioritises people over vehicles through a focus on safety, air quality and the overall experience of being in a public space.
Whilst it is unsurprising that this approach is most associated with London and other dense urban areas, the underlying principles are not location-specific. Vision-led transport planning can be applied across a wide range of contexts, if proposals are appropriately tailored to their context without undermining the overarching objective of reducing reliance on private car use.
For vision-led transport planning to succeed, an integrated project team is essential. Achieving meaningful mode shift cannot be addressed in isolation; it must be integral to the design, layout and operation of a development from the outset. This requires close collaboration with town planners, architects, engineers, urban designers and developers to ensure that sustainable travel is prioritised through site design, accessibility and placemaking. In parallel, reports such as Travel Plans play a significant role in reinforcing this approach by actively encouraging sustainable travel behaviour through incentives, management measures and ongoing monitoring. When used effectively, these tools turn policy into real-world outcomes.
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Transport planning has traditionally focused on unlocking development sites. A vision-led approach, however, depends on genuine collaboration across all disciplines involved. Without that integration, its ambition risks remaining aspirational rather than being fully realised in practice.
Applying vision-led transport principles in practice can be challenging, particularly within regeneration projects in dense urban areas with limited space. However, these challenges should not limit ambition, as it is essential that opportunities to promote sustainable modes of travel are fully explored. Our recent Holme Lacy Road project in Hereford provides a clear example where highway space has been reallocated from wide traffic lanes to create safer and more generous provision for pedestrians and cyclists, supported by a proactive engagement process that secured strong community buy-in for the scheme. By connecting into the wider active travel network, the project supports a shift away from private car use for shorter journeys, demonstrating how vision-led principles can be successfully delivered even in highly constrained environments.